Bond of Constellations
by EbonyIvoryy
Summary: Noah is practically throwing herself at Ed. However, he seems rather distracted... / CoS fic / Implied EdWin


**Disclaimer: **Arakawa owns both worlds, Bones pays her the bills, and I just write the fanfics.

**A/N: **I really am in dyer need of more CoS/EdWin fics. More than half the time, I never finish them. It's rare that I'm even posting this and making it public... Heh heh... ^^ Personally, I'm not too confident of this one, but I figure I might as well give it a shot. Readers, you are not forced to review but encouraged, since I really would appreciate some constructive criticism. Please, I beg of you!

_~u~_

_**Bond of Constellations**_

* * *

><p>"Edward... Isn't it beautiful?" The brunette gazed out into the astral sky — a milky way that went on for miles, which was unusual for Munich. Such bustling cities shouldn't have this many stars. Small grassy towns like Resembool, sure. But Munich...?<p>

"Yeah. It really is, Noah..." The young man almost spoke as if she were invisible. All of his thoughts were currently directed to his hometown. How he missed the rich fluff of sheep... Constellations used to light the ginormous, intimidating skies every night.

Of course, the big dipper here is no where as colorful.

Noah smiled, but just as quickly frowned with her thin scarlet lips. She could read him — literally. He was potentially home sick. Well, every day he was home sick, but tonight was to a different degree. In a sense, she was almost afraid to touch him... In case he thought the gypsy was trying to sought out his deepest secrets. After all, she could gaze into his heart with the lightest contact...

They settled themselves on the balcony after dinner — bread, bratwurst, cabbage, and baked beans — whereas Alfons went straight to bed. He had to wake up extra early tomorrow and rush to the factory.

"Cosmic stars are said to be the source of the Roma's fortune telling," claimed Noah, breaking the silence. Of course, as usual, her voice was small and filled with a whispering sensation. A mystical sound that made some people feel uneasy when speaking to her. However, Edward was no typical person. Maybe that was why Noah felt an indescribable notion within her stomach when picturing his face.

"Hm. Really?" Ed replied. His facial expression was blank. He wasn't completely there.

"Oh, yes..." She scooted an inch closer to him on the bench.

Peering over the streets of Germany, Noah continued, "Constellations fuel our power. That's why mine works best when people dream. Because the stars are out—..." She looked to him with a soft passion, though he merely spared her a glance. Pushing further, Noah's hip pressed against his. Uncomfortable with this, he shuffled a centimeter away and knitted his amber eyebrows. The young woman finished her statement as he did so. "...—in the night sky."

"Uh-huh..." Ed turned his head, setting his square chin in the palm of his hand.

He didn't know _why_ she was acting like this, nor did he care. All he wanted was silence. Was that too much of him to ask? Suddenly, the young lad's mind transitioned to a memory only years ago, back at home-sweet-home...

* * *

><p><em>There they were... He and his mechanic... On the porch of the Rockbell household. It was midnight. Not a soul was awake — minus a certain suit of armor, whom spent his time reading alchemy books upstairs. Anyhow, the two teens were only together due to lack of sleep; that's all.<em>

_The luminous blonde wrapped herself up in a bundle of blue sheets. Blood filled her fare cheeks with content, nuzzling into the cotton material. Fifteen-year-old Edward admired this sight. That she could feel satisfied from something so simple. His lips impulsively quirked upward._

_"What are you smiling at, dork?" Winry teased, shoving his shoulder with her blanket-bound arm. This caused a crimson hue upon his cheeks._

_"N-Nothing," FullMetal abruptly responded. Meanwhile, he rubbed his shoulder in after-shock. "And OW..."_

_She chuckled lightly, shaking her head. "It's a bit late for that. And I couldn't help it! There you are, grinning like an idiot—..."_

_"Sh-shut up!" he barked. "Jeez, crazy gearhead..."_

_Continuing to laugh, Winry just couldn't take the offense personally. She added an "alchemy freak" remark, and they went back and forth between name-calling until a short rant was forced into view.__ Winry quickly clasped both of her hands over Ed's mouth while he squirmed in mid-rant. _

_"Shhh! You're gonna wake Granny!" she ordered with narrowed eyes. That immediately shut him up. Granny Pinako sure wasn't pleasant when she awoke from the depths of slumber..._

_Tension built up as the teenagers awaited a screaming old woman. Fortunately, the woman never came. They sighed in relief and returned to silence. Afterward, both of their sights visited the luminous sky. It was truly breathtaking... A once-in-a-lifetime thrill. Edward exhaled in awe._

_"...You never see this in the city..." He smirked, leaning back and supporting himself with his elbows._

_She lied beside him, sharing the same peaceful countenance. Secretly, Winry felt a pang of melancholy. He had to leave for Central first thing tomorrow morning... And as always, she would faithfully wait for him... With a wrench in hand and ready for launch._

* * *

><p>Eighteen-year-old Edward sucked in a bitter breath. <em>'Why am I reminiscing on that stuff NOW?'<em> he thought with a mental grunt.

How he hated the nostalgic re-runs of his prized mechanic and childhood friend... They stung almost as much as flashbacks involving his little brother.

Rubbing his topaz eyes, he willed himself to stay awake. In fact, he nearly forgot Noah's presence. That is, until he felt a head of ebony hair... Touch him. Removing his chin from the palm of his hand, Ed spotted the gypsy woman, curling her maw up in content while resting her head on his right shoulder. In response, Ed made a gurgling noise at the back of his throat and twitched, looking away with a stiffened stature. When Noah noticed the sudden tightening of his body, she set a subtle hand on his clothed chest, moving it up and down in soft, gentle motions.

"Are you alright, Ed? You seem... Distressed," pointed out Noah, who kept on smoothing his chest in flirtatious circles.

"I'm _fine_," Ed insisted. He continued to shutter and cringe in his spot. What was she _doing? _

Right when Noah opened her mouth to say something else, he abruptly cut her off. "I-I, uh... I think I'm gonna go to bed. See you in the morning, 'kay?"

Getting up in an instant, he was suddenly yanked back by the wrist — a pair of slender digits wrapping around it. "Wait, Ed. Please?" Her shrill voice reached his ears.

By the touch, he tried as hard as he could _not_ to think about the previous thoughts. The thoughts of _her._ Not Noah, not Gracia, not Dante or Rose, not Eckheart, not even his own mother. Just one certain young lady, and he didn't even know _why_ he had the nerve to think about her in the first place. Now that Noah was coming into contact with him, he needed to _not_ think about _her_. For his pride's sake.

Ed had the urge to ask the Roma what she saw, but he left it be when she said nothing of it. The only thing that came out of her mouth was, "C-Can I... Come with you? My room is chilly. And yours is really warm..."

With a half-cocked eyebrow, Ed looked back at her. "I... Guess..." He sounded precarious. An uncertainty trailed in his tone.

When they trotted back into the apartment, Edward had the opportunity to casually tear his wrist from her hand, that way she wouldn't... _See_ anything. Inside, he thought, _'Just what am I getting myself into?'_

Edward's room was always left exactly the same. The floor would always have a few trousers and belts, maybe an unbuttoned shirt thrown to the side. The desk was filled with papers, and on them was various formulas and equations for building a rocket. The walls were colored a simple white-gray, and had one single poster directly next to his bed, in which featured a flying machine soaring through space. His blue-sheeted bed was always neat and done. For Edward Elric, this was surprisingly tidy of an area. If he had been a few years younger, the room he called his own would be a disaster. Luckily, he's learned organization after living with his father and Alfons for too long.

"You can sleep here... I'll take the floor," Ed informed the young woman behind him, still asking himself why he was doing this in the first place.

The brunette frowned once again, her orbs containing a well-held gloom. "I don't want to impose..."

"You're not," he simply said, before turning to her with a crooked grin. "Besides, if your room is cold, I doubt the floor will be any warmer. _Heheh_..."

As usual, Noah kept a straight face doused with a hint of gloom. Her eyes dropped to the rock-hard floor, then to the warm-blooded young man. While he was setting up a few sheets for himself, Noah asked out of nowhere, "Why don't you sleep with me on the bed?"

Ed could have sworn that right then, his eyeballs fell from their sockets and rolled down his throat as he choked on what she just suggested. "Y-You? And m-me? In the—... In the same bed...?"

She smiled just faintly. "Yes." Such a simple answer to fit the mystical nomad.

He shoved the rest of his blood down his throat, wanting to hack his brains out. "Are... Are you sure?"

Receiving a very sure nod in response, Ed hesitated to move towards the mattress. Noah sunk beneath the sheets before him, then patted the spot right next to her. Surely she was up to something... Was she trying to read him while he was asleep? If so, he'd be rather pissed in the morning. Or was this about something else? All he knew, is that if Alfons ever found out about this, he'd skip down to the factory and spread the word to _everyone_. Nope, Mister Heiderich would_ never_ let it go.

Slipping beside her, he didn't bother to go under the blanket. It would bring them... Closer. He didn't want that. Usually, he slept in his boxers... But with Noah in sight, he wouldn't want that either.

Out of nowhere, something silver and shiny caught his attention. It glared in the corner of his wise eye, tempting him to look over at what it was...

Okay, he couldn't take it anymore. Edward brought his full eyesight to the conceit object. On the desk across the room, there lied a silver screw. Stray, alone, and just sitting there. Waiting to be used for some kind of gadget. Waiting to be picked up by a lovely sunny-haired mechanic, and—

_'No! Ugh... Stop thinking about her! Damnit...'_ Ed cursed in his head. He never felt safe with thoughts around mind-readers, so this sent him over the edge.

To keep his mind off of the tiny screw (who knows how it got there anyway), the Amestrian boy picked up a book he had currently been reading — by Robert Hutchins Goddard — an American professor and physicist that documented his research on liquid-fueled rockets as well. The book claimed that someday, mankind would be able to reach the stars...

"What are you reading?" Noah questioned oh-so-innocently.

His eyes visited her, then went back to the text in the book, still trying to avoid the shiny object at the corner of his vision. "It's just a book about science... Nothin' you'd be interested in, really."

A pause. Despite his answer, Noah requested, "What kind of science? Can you explain it to me?"

Ed cocked his head in wonder. "This is a first. You actually want to hear about liquid-fueled rockets?" It was true. Noah was more of a spiritual type of girl.

"Yes," she answered with a nod.

He kept his eyes on her, before closing the book with a sigh. "Well..." Thus, he began to explain everything — from hydrogen's part in engineering rockets, to what physicists hope to accomplish, building a rocket with enough power to fly to the moon — in consideration that he might bore her. Strangely, she didn't seem to be getting bored, nor confused. In fact, she begun asking questions about the science.

"What makes you... Want to study rockets?" was one of her questions as she snaked her head onto his arm, cuddling closer and closer to him as he explained. When he gave her a look, she reassured him that she wasn't trying to read his truthful thoughts.

"Do you mind if I ask you one more thing?" she inquired, pushing her plush chest against his side.

His larynx bobbed, and his facial expression definitely showed that he was uncomfortable with the situation, but this didn't stop Noah. "...Did you ever have somebody you loved... Back home? A special someone?" Now, her face inched closer to his, transitioning her digits to his neck.

"I... I don't see how that has to do with rockets..." Ed tried to pull away, but there was no more space as he was on the edge of the bed.

"Ed," she spoke his name in a low tone. "You don't have to worry. I won't try to seek out your thoughts, I promise..."

Just as she said this, the screw shun in its spot, becoming visible in Edward's field of vision. His heart shuttered. His brain froze to the very last blood cell. It seemed that his plane of thought had been shut down by a bigger source. Why did that little piece — that tiny tool — take such an effect on him? Why is it that whenever he smelt grease, or heard the sound of men tinkering away at something, his mind was sent to the memory of his childhood friend?

The palm of Noah's hand eased down his chest, then back up to the warm nape of his neck. She was now practically _on_ him... But he was completely senseless. Like a rag doll. The brunette grabbed hold of his chin and forced his blinders to meet hers — warm honey (that was currently cold) intertwining with two cocoa irises. But the former FullMetal Alchemist felt absolutely nothing.

His mind tricked him in a moment of vulnerability. Those eyes of cocoa switched to eyes of crystal sky, but it was just an illusion. A dream he wished was reality. Because when Noah grazed her lipstick-stained lips over his, he could have sworn he was with another girl. A young lady not derived from the Roma, but from Amestris.

Her mouth released his, but it didn't take long for Noah to wrap both arms around his neck, settle on his lap, and smack their mouths together in loveless matrimony. Edward did kiss back, but he seemed to be... Not there. Like his soul left his body. Hell, even his _brain_ demolished into endless goo. He closed his eyes for just a minute, only to open them back up again. No, he couldn't even _taste_ her. It was like air on his lips. Emotion was no longer of this world.

In consideration, Noah kept her promise. She didn't seek out his thoughts or gaze into his heart. It took real control for a gypsy to not read a person they came into contact with, though she gained that control at a young age. Her lips against his sparked something magical she's never experienced before; something that had her nerves tingling. Even though he wasn't giving as much passion in return, his lips were still wonderful.

Unfortunately, in Edward's point of view, making out with her was not anything near wonderful. Usually he'd be blushing obscenely at the sheer thought of _hugging_ a girl, but he no longer owned his body... Or even his mind. He was a zombie, inside and out. His gaze didn't move one bit from the screw on the desk. As he became more and more hypnotized by the inanimate object, his system shut down, and in came a greedy dog. Ed took hold of Noah's hair, tugging on it as he aimlessly bit and sucked on her lips. What was he thinking? What in the _world_ was he thinking?

Fantasy intruded on his logic. He was no longer pounding mouths with Noah, but with a beautiful blue-eyed gearhead. He imagined himself upstairs, in the lemon house she grew up in. All of a sudden, he could taste the honey of the kiss; the sweet, sweet honey. He could smell the fresh grease mixed with daises in her waist-length locks. He could feel the softness of her cheek — her porcelain, glistening flesh contrasting so well with the darkness of her eyelashes. Everything was grand. He didn't want this stillness in time to stop. A sensation he's never felt had his blood pumping, for it was not science and equations.

_This isn't right._

The importance of logic penetrated its way into Edward's mind, claiming its throne. Even for being hopelessly and obliviously confused, he understood one thing: Noah was just a substitute. Nothing more. Who knows, maybe this was just happening because she was the only person that believed his stories of the other world, and that she shared the drifter lifestyle. Either way, she was merely an acquaintance.

_You can't do this to yourself, Ed.  
><em>

He subtly pushed her away, murmuring, "W-Wait. Stop..."

Noah fluttered her blinders open, wondering what was up with the sudden withdrawal. "...Edward?"

Painfully turning his head away from her, he said nothing more. This shouldn't have happened. He should've pushed her away at the very first second. For a while, the only sound that could be heard was the ticking of a wall clock in the front room. _Tick, tock, tick~_

The melody echoed in the apartment — making the situation especially awkward.

"I see..." The gypsy psychic shamefully glared down at the two tanned hands settled in her lap. The quiet groaned when her voice came into view. "...It's someone else, isn't it?"

_'Someone else? What are women but a distraction, anyway?'_ It was true. That is how he always looked at love — just a bunch of hormones. Love didn't exist.

When it took too long for him to speak, Noah accepted that answer. She took hold of his shoulder (just like the first time she met him in that caravan) and shut her eyelids to finally take a look at his heart. Eagerly, Ed shoved her back, so she was hardly able to see anything.

"Get out," he ordered firmly with furrowed eyebrows. She just broke her promise.

"...Ed—"

"Just get out!" The former alchemist locked eyes with hers, showing nothing but fury.

Noah was taken aback, but she did as he said... Hesitantly, but still corresponded. She removed her form from the mattress and tottered to the door. Just before she exited, though, she turned her head just slightly to mouth, "I'm sorry," and leave with guilt trailing her footsteps.

Once she was out of view, Ed leaped up from his spot with a grunt, then slammed the door shut and fell to his knees.

"D-Damn it..." His digits combed through his thick bangs, eyes boring to the ground. "_Damn it!_" Ed snatched the screw from the desk and chucked it across the room, causing it to land in the crease of his bed. Hopefully, he'd never see it again. If he did, it would just mock him with its brilliant silver sheen. The object would be a reminder of all he has lost, and all he has not properly said goodbye to.

And Winry... She didn't deserve that. While some of his closest allies parted from him in a satisfying sense, Miss Rockbell barely received as much. She gave him an arm... And a leg... But what has he given in return? Hardly even a friendship. The last person he saw in Amestris was Rose... Where was the poetic bond in that? _She _meant nothing to him, honestly. Of course, being the cynical humanitarian he was, Ed would help her in a time of struggle, but Rose wasn't even half of how Winry's existence had chambered over his healing soul. That was the poetic bond. A bond of Constellations that brought them together... From one night to the next.

_**F i n**_


End file.
